Before the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers tipped off for their 7:30 p.m. game Monday night, the Sixers announced that Joel Embiid and James Harden would rest on the second night of a back-to-back. That would give Miami a golden opportunity to strengthen their hold on the one seed of the Eastern Conference.
Tyrese Maxey, the player who Philadelphia picked right after Miami selected Precious Achiuwa in the 2020 NBA Draft, had other plans.
In a game that was close throughout — we’ll get to that later — Maxey made an and-one with 2:18 left to play to give Philadelphia a 106-101 lead.